The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

and occasional experiments with dub. They are known for their raucous live shows.

History

The band was formed in 1976 by a group of

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

art students:

Jon Langford Jonathan Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Langford is a founder member of the punk band The Mekons, the post-punk group The Three Johns, and the alternative count ...

, Kevin Lycett, Mark White, Andy Corrigan and Tom Greenhalgh—the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

and Delta 5 formed from the same group of students. They took the band's name from the Mekon, an evil, super-intelligent Venusian featured in the British 1950s–1960s comic ''

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repr ...

'' (printed in the ''Eagle''). The Mekons were described as more chaotic version of the Gang of Four; Lycett stated the band operated on the principle that "anybody could do it ... anybody could get up and join in and instruments could be swapped around; that there'd be no distance between the audience and the band." By their second show, supporting the Rezillos at the

F Club The F Club (later known as Fan Club) was a punk rock and post-punk club night in Leeds that ran between 1977 and 1982. It was held at various venues across the city during its tenure, including Leeds Polytechnic, the Ace of Clubs, the Continent ...

, they were approached with a record deal by Bob Last of Fast Product. The Mekons were first band signed to the label. The band's first single was "Never Been in a Riot", a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

take on

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

's ''

White Riot "White Riot" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash, released as the band's first single in March 1977 and also included on their self-titled debut album. Versions There are two versions of the song: the single version (also appearin ...

''. The release was made Single of the Week in NME. Their second single, "Where Were You?" was released by the end of 1978 and sold out of its 27,500 copies. At this time, Last convinced the band to sign to a larger label—

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

. The Mekons popularity peaked as they played on the same bill as other "new music" groups like Gang of Four, the

Fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

, the Human League, and

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...

. For several years the band played noisy, bare-bones

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

, releasing singles on a number of labels. The Mekons' first album, '' The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen'', was recorded using the

's instruments, and due to an error by the Virgin Records art department, featured pictures of the Gang of Four on the back cover. After 1982's ''The Mekons Story,'' a compilation of old recordings, the band ceased activity for a while, with Langford forming The Three Johns. Corrigan became a tour manager for many years before founding a company that provides visa and immigration services specialising in the entertainment industry. By the mid-1980s (revitalised by the 1984 coal miners' strike) the Mekons had returned as an active group. The band was now augmented by vocalist Sally Timms, violinist Susie Honeyman, ex- Damned member

Lu Edmonds Robert David "Lu" Edmonds (born 9 September 1957) is an English rock and folk musician. He is currently, as of 2018, a vocalist and saz and cümbüş player in the Mekons and the lead guitarist for Public Image Limited. Edmonds reportedly p ...

, accordionist/vocalist

Rico Bell Rico Bell ( Eric Bellis) is a UK and California based artist and musician best known for his work as a member of the British punk rock band the Mekons which he joined in 1983. A singer and multi-instrumentalist with the Mekons, Bell has also rel ...

(a.k.a.

Eric Bellis Rico Bell ( Eric Bellis) is a UK and California based artist and musician best known for his work as a member of the British punk rock band the Mekons which he joined in 1983. A singer and multi-instrumentalist with the Mekons, Bell has also re ...

), and former

The Rumour The Rumour was an English rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour. However, The Rumour also ...

drummer Steve Goulding. They began to experiment with musical styles derived from traditional English folk (tentatively explored on the ''English Dancing Master'' EP prior to the hiatus), and American

. ''Fear and Whiskey'' (1985), ''The Edge of the World'' (1986) and '' The Mekons Honky Tonkin''' (1987) exemplified the band's new sound, which built on the innovations of

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

and blended punk ethos and

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

politics with the

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

country of

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

. Subsequent albums, such as '' The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'', continued to experiment with diverse instrumentation (notably the

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos t ...

, and saz). '' The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'', released by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

in 1989, was the band's first (and only) album to be put out by a major label. It was not a commercial success, reportedly selling only around 23,000 albums in the U.S., but was met with critical acclaim. It was named eighth of the top 10 albums of 1989 in the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

's Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 1991, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''. Just as the Mekons began to grow in critical stature, their relationship with A&M Records became tense, and the Mekons were soon dropped by the label, unable to fulfill their commercial expectations. However, they continued to record at a prolific rate, releasing such notable albums as 1991's ''

Curse of the Mekons ''The Curse of the Mekons'' is the ninth studio album by English rock band The Mekons, released in 1991. Due to a disagreement with A&M Records, the album was not released in the U.S. until a decade later, being available only as an import from ...

'', 2000's ''Journey to the End of the Night'', and 2002's ''OOOH!'' ''Natural'' moved the band to a more folk-flavoured sound. In April 2009 the Mekons returned to the studio to complete a new collection of songs, released in 2011 as ''Ancient and Modern'' on

Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country. History Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from jobs i ...

, and, in a September 2010 interview, Jon Langford revealed that the band would tour the United States in 2011. In a February 2011 interview, Langford discussed the music documentary about the band, ''Revenge of the Mekons,'' directed by Joe Angio. The film premiered in 2013 at the DOC NYC festival with members of the band in attendance. The band has toured and recorded with a mostly unaltered lineup (Langford, Greenhalgh, Timms, Goulding, Bell, Edmonds, Honeyman, and bassist

Sarah Corina Sarah Corina is an English bass guitarist and music producer. She has played bass with The Bomb Party, The Mekons, Bill Carter, Die Cheerleader, and Striplight among others. Sarah Corina started playing bass as a teenager in Leicester, she join ...

) throughout the 1990s and early 21st century, and has a highly devoted following.

left in 2015, and

Dave Trumfio David Trumfio (born August 16, 1968) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer and musician, best known for his production work with artists such as Wilco and his recordings with his own band The Pulsars. Production work Trumfio grew u ...

, of Chicago and Southern California, replaced Corina on bass. The Mekons celebrated their 40th anniversary with the "Mekonville" festival near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, England, with both the current 2017 line-up and the re-united original 1977 lineup performing. At that festival, ''Mekonville'', a 12-inch "split single" was released, with one new song from each of the two line-ups. The "current" line-up, still as "The Mekons", also performed several concerts in the UK and elsewhere in Europe in July and August, 2017. Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh are the only members common to both line-ups. They recorded their 2019 album ''Deserted'' in a studio near to

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to the Mojave Desert. Origin ...

. In an interview, they described how "the rugged landscape informed the highly diverse collection of songs they wrote". For 2022, The Mekons announced at least one performance in Europe.

Other projects

Langford has worked as the founder and member of several solo and band projects including The Three Johns, the Waco Brothers, a punk-meets-

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

-like ensemble, and the

Pine Valley Cosmonauts Pine Valley Cosmonauts (PVC) are a musical ensemble from Chicago, Illinois. History The group was initiated by Jon Langford (also of the Waco Brothers and The Mekons) as a covers group, with both repertory and cast of backing members constantly ...

, a project that explores the music of

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

, Johnny Cash and others. Besides his solo albums Langford has released CDs with Richard Buckner, Kevin Coyne, Kat Ex (Katherina Bornefeld) of The Ex,

Roger Knox Roger Knox (born 1948) is an Australian country singer, known as the Black Elvis and the Koori King of Country. Early life Knox is from the Gamilaroi nation, part of the Aboriginal Australian community, and was born in Moree, New South Wales. ...

, and

The Sadies The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Bria ...

, in some cases using the Pine Valley Cosmonauts name. In 2014, some of The Mekons, dubbing themselves the "mini-Mekons", along with

Robbie Fulks Robert "Robbie" Fulks (born March 25, 1963) is an American alternative country singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and long-time Chicago, Illinois resident. He has released 13 albums over a career spanning more than 30 years. His 2016 record '' Up ...

, went to northern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to perform, sample the local

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

, and write and record an album on the island of Jura, in the studio of world and roots producer

Giles Perring Giles may refer to: People * Giles (given name), male given name (Latin: ''Aegidius'') * Giles (surname), family name * Saint Giles (650–710), 7th–8th-century Christian hermit saint * Giles of Assisi, Aegidius of Assisi, 13th-century com ...

, a long-term collaborator with Mekon Susie Honeyman in the band Echo City. The record, named ''Jura,'' was released in November 2015 on Black Friday and is made up of original songs written on the trip, traditional songs, and a new recording of one Mekons song.

Freakons

In 2013, and again in September 2017 and July 2021, Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin of

Freakwater Freakwater is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic diss ...

joined together with

and Sally Timms of the Mekons to be the Freakons, performing original and cover songs about

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, to support the non-profit organization

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) is a grassroots community organization under the original name of the Kentuckian Fair Tax Coalition. It began when 26 people from 12 countries met in Hazard on August 17, 1981. Though statewide, KFTC has dee ...

. Each time, the Freakons performed at the

Hideout Hideout may refer to: Entertainment * ''Hideout'' (film), a 1949 American thriller film directed by Philip Ford * ''The Hideout'' (1956 film), a 1956 British crime film directed by Peter Graham Scott * ''The Hideout'' (film), a 2007 film by Pup ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and elsewhere in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In 2013, they also performed at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (HSB), originally Strictly Bluegrass, is an annual free and non-commercial music festival held the first weekend of October in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. Conceived and subsidized by San Francisco ...

festival. In 2017, they were accompanied by violinists

Jean Cook Jean George Cook (born 14 August 1991) is a South African rugby union player. His usual position is flanker or number eight and he most recently played for Japanese Top League club Kintetsu Liners. Career Cook started out his career with ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and Anna Krippenstapel of

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

( The Other Years,

Joan Shelley Joan Shelley (born in 1985) is an American indie folk musician from Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Career Shelley has released a number of studio recordings. Her second album, ''Ginko'', and third album, ''Farthest Field'' (with Daniel Ma ...

, etc.), and, only in Chicago, by Chicago/Louisville guitarist

James Elkington James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

( The Horse's Ha, etc.). In 2021, the same line-up, without Elkington, performed, and they released the live album ''Freakons'', recorded at the 2017 Chicago performances.

Discography

Albums

* 1979: '' The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen'' (

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...

/ Blue Plate-

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label originally founded in 1973. Initially founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976, and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. ...

) * 1980: ''The Mekons'' aka ''Devils Rats and Piggies a Special Message from Godzilla'' (

Red Rhino Records Red Rhino Records, also known as Red Rhino, was a British independent record label which was developed by the independent record shop and wholesaler of the same name, all formed and run by "Tony K" (Tony Kostrzewa) and his wife Gerri. It was part ...

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as we ...

Quarterstick Records Quarterstick Records is a sublabel of Touch and Go Records. Artists *Bad Livers *Calexico * DK3 * Dead Child * June of 44 *Kepone * The Mekons * Mi Ami *Peter Móren (of Peter, Bjorn and John) *Mule * Naked Raygun *Tara Jane O'Neil * Pegboy *Ph ...

) – re-released in 1997 * 1982: '' The Mekons Story'' (CNT Productions, Sin Record Company/Feel Good All Over, Buried Treasures Records) – re-released in 1986 * 1985: '' Fear and Whiskey'' (Sin Record Company; re-released in 2002 and 2019, via bandcamp, by Quarterstick Records) * 1986: ''The Edge of the World'' (Sin Record Company; re-released in 1996 and 2019, via bandcamp, by Quarterstick Records) * 1987: '' The Mekons Honky Tonkin''' (Sin Record Company, Twin/Tone Records) * 1988: ''So Good It Hurts'' (Sin Record Company/

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairma ...

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pu ...

Germany) * 1989: '' The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'' (

Blast First Blast First is a sub label of one-time independent record label Mute Records, founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radical Vorticist journal ''Blast'', published by Wyndham Lewis in 1914 ...

Germany; re-released circa 2001 by

Collectors' Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois, company originally primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact discs. , its catalo ...

, and circa 2020, via bandcamp) * 1991: '' The Curse of the Mekons'' (

Germany; re-released circa 2001 by Collectors' Choice Music) * 1993: '' I ♥ Mekons'' (

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. ...

Germany) * 1994: '' Retreat from Memphis'' (

Germany) * 1996: ''Pussy, King of the Pirates'' with Kathy Acker (

) * 1996: ''Mekons United'' book and CD (

) * 1998: '' Me'' (

) * 2000: ''

Journey to the End of the Night ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (french: Voyage au bout de la nuit, 1932) is the first novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. This semi-autobiographical work follows the adventures of Ferdinand Bardamu in the World War I, colonial Africa, the ...

'' (

) * 2002: ''OOOH! (Out of Our Heads)'' (

) * 2004: ''Punk Rock'' (

) * 2007: ''

Natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

'' (

) * 2011: ''Ancient and Modern 1911–2011'' (

) * 2015: ''Jura'', by the mini-Mekons with

(

) * 2016: ''Existentialism'' (

) * 2018: ''It Is Twice Blessed'', by the Mekons 77 ( Slow Things) * 2019: ''Deserted'' (Bloodshot Records) * 2020: ''Exquisite'' (self released via

bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

; 2022 vinyl by Glitterbeat Records)

EPs

* 1983: ''The English Dancing Master'' (CNT Records,

) * 1986: ''Crime and Punishment'' (Sin Record Company) * 1986: ''Slightly South of the Border'' (Sin Record Company) * 1987: ''Hole In The Ground / Sin City / Prince Of Darkness'' (Sin Record Company,

, Twin/Tone Records) * 1989: ''The Dream and Lie of...'' (

) * 1990: ''F.U.N. '90'' (

) * 1990: ''Greetings Eight'' (Materiali Sonori, Italy) * 1992: ''Wicked Midnite/All I Want'' (Loud Music) * 1993: ''Millionaire'' (

) * 2007: ''The Brackenrigg EP'' (download only)

Singles

* 1978: "Never Been In A Riot" b/w "32 Weeks" and "Heart & Soul" − FAST 1 ( Fast Product) * 1978: "Where Were You?" b/w "I'll Have To Dance Then (On My Own)" − FAST 7 ( Fast Product) * 1979: "Work All Week" b/w "Unknown Wrecks" − VS300 (

) * 1980: "Teeth" b/w "Guardian" and "Kill" b/w "Stay Cool" (

) – double 7" * 1980: "Snow" b/w "Another One" (

) * 1981: "This Sporting Life" b/w "Frustration" − CNT1 (CNT Records) * 1982: "This Sporting Life" b/w "Fight the Cuts" − CNT8 (CNT Records) * 1986: "Hello Cruel World" b/w "Alone & Forsaken" − Sin004 (Sin Record Company) * 1988: "Ghosts of American Astronauts" (Sin Record Company,

, Twin/Tone Records) * 1990: "Claw" b/w "Crap Rap" with The Ex (Clawfist) * 1990: "Sheffield Park" b/w "Having a Party" (

) * 1990: "Makes No Difference" b/w "Having A Party" (

) * 1995: "Untitled 1" b/w "Untitled 2" − QS31 (

) * 2017: ''Mekonville'': "How Many Stars Are Out Tonight" b/w "Still Waiting" − (Sin/Slow)

Compilations

* 1980: ''Mutant Pop'' (PVC/Jem), a US reissue of various early Fast Product singles, including the Mekons first 7", ''Never Been in a Riot'' b/w ''32 Weeks'', as well as ''Where Were You?'', both first released in 1978. * 1985: "They Shall Not Pass" CNT Miner's Strike compilation includes "Fight The Cuts" and "This Sporting Life" * 1986: ''The Mekons Story''—re-released in 1993/2008 * 1987: ''Mekons New York'' (

ROIR ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper. Background ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...

) – re-released in 1990/2001 as ''New York: On the Road 86–87'' * 1989: ''Original Sin'' (

) – Collects together '' Fear and Whiskey,'' parts of ''The English Dancing Master,'' ''Crime and Punishment'' EP, and ''Slightly South of the Border'' EPs * 1999: ''I Have Been to Heaven and Back: Hen's Teeth and other lost fragments of unpopular culture, Vol. 1'' (

) * 1999: ''Where Were You? Hen's Teeth and other lost fragments of unpopular culture, Vol. 2'' (

) * 2001: ''Curse of the Mekons/Fun '90''— combined reissue (

) * 2004: ''Heaven & Hell: The Very Best of the Mekons'' (

) * 2011: ''Me-Tunes'' (not on label)

Freakons

* 2021 ''Freakons'' ( Fluff & Gravy Records)

Miscellaneous

* 2002: ''Hello Cruel World: Selected Lyrics'' f 125 songsbook, written & illustrated by The Mekons ( Verse Chorus Press; ) * 2016: ''Existentialism'' book, including ''Existentialism'' CD (Sin Publications/ Verse Chorus Press, distributed by

)

Documentary

* 2013: ''Revenge of the Mekons'' directed by Joe Angio

References

External links

* – official site * – official site
Bloodshot Records
– The Mekons label site

info at ''Club Mekon''
The Mekons
–

Live Music Archive The Live Music Archive (LMA), part of the Internet Archive, is an ad-free collection of over 170,000 concert recordings in lossless audio formats. The songs are also downloadable or playable in lossy formats such as Ogg Vorbis or MP3. The web ...

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

''Mekonville''
– documentary on The Mekons 2017 reunion at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

''Revenge of the Mekons''
(2013) – film about The Mekons {{DEFAULTSORT:Mekons, The Punk rock groups from West Yorkshire Post-punk groups from Leeds Alternative rock groups from Leeds Musical groups established in 1976 Cowpunk musical groups Quarterstick Records artists Virgin Records artists Blast First artists A&M Records artists Bloodshot Records artists Westpark Music artists